The Many Adventures Of Samurai X
by Parachutingkitten
Summary: Pixal has Just become the new Samurai X! What is she supposed to do with her time now that she's finall on her own?
1. Chapter 1

Dust everywhere. It seemed like no one had been there in years. That couldn't be right, could it? It certainly hadn't had much upkeep. I placed a small box of my belongings on a table as a walked the room.

The Samurai X cave had been out of active use for quite some time. Mainly because Samurai X herself had long retired. She had discovered a greater way to contribute to the team. She had found power within her, and yet forgotten the power that she had built with her own two hands. In a way I took slight offense, knowing that she clearly preferred organic solutions rather than technological ones, but maybe it was best not to overanalyze.

Light shined into the cave only artificially, which I suppose made sense, and was the logical way to stay hidden, but it was a surprising design choice for Nya. For someone who built her own freedom, I doubt she would have felt comfortable locking herself up in a cave. It didn't bother _me_ of course, I was used to it by now. I had lived in enclosed spaces my whole life. I had no need for sunlight or air of any quality.

It felt natural for me to be there. This was the next logical step to take. I was tired of my potential being pushed aside by the team. They ignored my analysis and refused to take me seriously. They neglected to build me a body, so I did it myself. If I had to leave them to get stronger, that was their own fault. They had their chance to benefit directly from my potential. Now, it was my turn to be center stage. My turn to be respected. My turn to save them. That was why Nya built Samurai X in the first place, to prove her potential. I'm sure she wouldn't mind me continuing on her legacy. The ninja needed help after all. The time twins had control of the situation on a level they had never encountered before.

I approached the largest of the storage units scattered along the rim of the central entryway. The opening mechanism was fingerprint locked, but I was capable of mimicking prints and had acquired Nya's easily by that point. As the door opened, the suit was slowly lifted from the shadows. There it sat, glimmering in all its beauty. A piece of technology made before I was even born, sourced from another era of the ninja. One where Garmadon had been evil, and Lloyd a child. I knew it all to be true, but they seemed more like legends to me. Nya had already passed her Samurai X golden age by the time I had met her, and I didn't even get to see much of the work she had done afterward.

I envied her in a way. For the longest time, I wished to be like her. Out on the field, strong and capable, making decisions, affecting outcomes, keeping the team in check. For her voice to be heard by everyone. I envied that most of all. I could only ever speak with Zane, and though his company pleased me greatly, it had made me feel… restricted. I was programmed to have a body, and a voice, and a presence. Most of that was stripped from me when I was with Zane. It didn't feel natural. But Nya never seemed to give me a second thought once I was gone. I thought maybe she would have cared for one of the only other females on her team, but apparently not. That was fine though.

It was fine.

I was fine.

I didn't need her support. I didn't need anyone's support. She's the one that taught me that. She should have known better than to forget all her hard work. She should have known better than to leave her cave unguarded. She should have known better than to ignore one of the essential members of her own team, and patronize them as they sit inside a dormant mind helpless to say anything all while in an intense moment of crisis!

…But that was neither here nor there. Right? It didn't even really bother me all that much, to be honest.

"But now, I'm hacking into your systems, taking over your home, and stealing your identity…

 _Hope you don't mind."_


	2. Chapter 2

I flew back feeling what can only be described as _alive_. The thanks of the innocent still rung in my ears, building my understanding of what it means to make a difference in someone's life. I couldn't say for sure what it felt like to a human, but I think I finally grasped what Kai meant when he said something was a "rush" or why Jay always seemed to yelp in delight at a good victory. Saving Ninjago is great, but helping a specific community really fills you with… life. I had helped stop a robbery today. Not of a bank or store, but of a home in a small neighborhood. Most days were satisfying, but today felt really special. I had been on the job for nearly a month now, and I was getting the hang of it. I sped past the sand and approached my cave. The feeling of ecstasy mellowed, pleasantly calming into a deep satisfaction.

My suit made it past the initial entry, and the lights of the cave kicked in. I made my landing and jumped out of the mech, my steps echoing in the entrance chamber. I quickly stepped out of my battle armor, my skin finally touching the air of the cave. I stretched my arms and back, adjusting to the freedom being out of the suit gave me. I blinked a few times, my eyes adjusting to the dim light of the entryway, and pushed the entrance switch to the rest of the cave. My heart sank a bit as the doors opened to reveal the cave just as I had left it: empty.

I didn't know why it surprised me. There was no reason for it to be otherwise. I gave a brief sigh, the satisfaction that had seconds ago filled me now fading as I walked the length of the control center to reach the living area. I looked up at the ceilings as I walked. They were so tall. Had they always been that way? And they seemed gray now too. The walls had always been gray, but they had never seemed this dark before. There was quiet beeping emanating from the computers that lined the wall. How long had they been on? How much energy did it waste to keep them on all the time? It's not like I was here all the time. Or even most of the time. It seemed like a bit of a waste, but then again, you never knew when you would need it.

I shrugged off the thought, pulling my hair from the ponytail holder that held it back. I slipped it onto my wrist, running my fingers over my scalp and shaking out my hair. I entered into the kitchen, almost pitch dark, and fumbled on the wall looking for the light switch. There were so many switches in this cave, so many to keep track of and lose track of and forget about. So many switches that seemed to have no purpose. I finally found the one I was looking for as the lights in the kitchen buzzed on, blinding me for a short moment. Once I was able to assess the room, I noticed something amiss, a bulb malfunctioning.

It sat in the middle of the kitchen, right above the center island, flickering away at random intervals. I rolled my eyes, walking under it to asses the situation. It would likely have to be replaced. I groaned, ignoring it for now, and opening the pantry.

I didn't require food intake necessarily, but it was a convenience I enjoyed, and a ritual that I found humanized me in some way I couldn't possibly understand. People gathered together to cook intricate and meaningful meals with recipes passed down through generations. Then they ate together to bond with one another and share their thoughts and feelings. To think that I could be a part of such intimacy made me feel grounded. The team would usually have a meal after every mission we returned from to celebrate a job well done, so I attempted to keep up the tradition on my own.

The options presented in front of me were slim. There were some assorted packages of chips, some microwavable bagged meals that supposedly were served over rice, and three boxes of cereal. I grabbed the box of sugar puffs and set it on the island, moving over to the fridge to pull out the milk. I then turned to the dishware cabinets to grab a bowl. There were none left. My hands quickly shifted over to the right as I settled on a wide mug as a suitable substitute for the time being. I finished by grabbing a spoon and setting my findings along side the rest of my meal. I sat down on a bar stool, and poured what was left of the sugar puffs into the mug. It was a little less than normal, but it wasn't like I really needed it. I poured my milk over top and looked down at the floating beige puffs. I dunked my spoon in, and took in my first large mouthful. The more than familiar flavor mixed with the stale air of the cave made for a less than exciting taste. But… it's what I had. It was fine.

My eyes wandered lazily around the room, the light above me still flickering in no predictable pattern for no discernible reason. I tried to ignore it. _Just relax, eat your cereal, it's going to get soggy._ I thought to myself. But for some reason I couldn't. I couldn't just overlook it, I couldn't just sit here quietly doing nothing while this light stood in the middle of everything, messing up the room!

Something in me snapped and I chucked my spoon up at the light, breaking the bulb, glass shattering everywhere, and the room getting just a bit dimmer. I stood in the middle of the room, splatters of milk dripping down my arm, and glass now floating in my mug as the spoon came to an awful clattering on the ground. I stood there… and I laughed. I laughed at the absurdity of the situation, using my cereal spoon as a lethal weapon for a misbehaving light bulb. I brushed the milk from my arm, still laughing as I began to speak.

"Zane, make a note-" I stopped short, realizing where I was, the smile fading from my face. "…we need light bulbs." I closed my eyes, leaning on the island counter. "You're not a part of Zane anymore Pixal, you have to stop this." It wasn't the first time I had caught myself talking to my mind companion of the past few years. I sounded crazy talking to myself like this. It had to stop. I had made my choice to leave him, and I had to stick to it if I wanted to make something of myself.

"Come on Pix… you're better than this.

… you're better than him."


	3. Chapter 3

I wandered around the kitchen following some vague instinct to fulfill an ambiguous craving. The pantry didn't seem too appetizing and the fridge was nearly empty. What was it I wanted? Something sweet. Something… cold. I grabbed a spoon and opened the freezer pulling out my pint of mint chip. There was something about how the chill of the treat traveled through my body. It made me feel better in a strange way I couldn't quite place. Just as I was starting to relax, the alarms went off. I took my ice cream with me into the control room where I observed the problem. Security alarms had been activated at Borg Tower. It seemed as though someone was trying to get to the realm crystal.

Without a second thought I left to get in my suit and was shortly after in the air, flying towards Ninjago City. Why would anyone want to mess with the realm crystal? It's dangerous and will probably end up stranding you in a foreign realm. Only people who are under the impression they can somehow use it to rule the world would even mess with that thing. Why can't criminals just chase after insane wealth and success? It's much easier to wrap your head around, and even easier to stop without realm shattering consequences.

I approached the tower, memories resurfacing in my mind as it drew closer. The number of pleasant memories held there probably outnumbered the darker ones by quite a margin, but they seemed to be outweighed by the sheer vividness with which I remembered the bleaker ones. The feeling of corruption is not one that's forgotten easily. The complete detach of your mind as something you can't understand takes control of your body, your thoughts twisted and suppressed until who you are is so insignificant, it becomes negligible in everything you do. All of that in one single instant… and you're gone.

I made a landing on a balcony closest to where the majority of movement in the building was taking place. I detached from my larger mech. That big thing wasn't about to be much use inside the confines of the building. I broke the window to get in and searched my surroundings. Droids were swarming form a central staircase down a hallway to the left towards the location of the realm crystal. What caught my eye was the central figure guiding the rest of the droids back.

"Cryptor?"

His name caught his attention as he turned towards me. "Samurai X." he moved towards me, obviously somewhat pleased with my presence.

"You look…" very different. Instead of his dark shadowy clothing, he was now draped in all white. He stood and walked in stances more akin to a soldier than the powerful warlord he used to be. I suppose I had known the nindroid army had been rebuilt for Borg Tower security, but I hadn't really processed it enough to think I would see him again. I cleared my throat. "You look like you're in charge here. What's the situation?"

"A discrete team of intruders has infiltrated the tower and is moving towards the realm crystal. We have all droids reporting to protect it. They appear to be using some sort of cloaking technology, as we can only detect them using their thermal signature."

"Yeah, that sounds right. Unless of course someone else tried to resurrect the anacondrai."

"Our database is not aware of any such activity."

"No, that was… that was a joke. Nevermind." Cryptor was so stiff and rigid. It wasn't like him. It was almost like his personality coding had been entirely deleted. Like he was restricted or… corrupted. "So, what's your plan? Don't your soldiers have cloaking abilities too?"

"But no heat signature to track. We're hyper energy efficient."

I sighed. So if they put on their cloak the fight would be a bunch of droids running into each other. Borg, why do your advancements have to work so well? "Well, I have a heat signature. Your men will see me, and maybe this way the invaders won't be expecting me." I turned on my cloak just as the floor below us shook, and rubble landed around us as several distinct thermal bodies on my screen entered through the new hole in the floor.

Fighting broke out among the droids as I snuck past the crowd, and Cryptor lead his men forward. There weren't too many attackers present, which immediately got me suspicious. Either they were really stupid, or had something big up their sleeves. Before I could think further, droids began dropping to the floor. Not the ones fighting though, the one's towards the back, by me. I looked over again at the signatures I could trace. 10, 11, 12… unlucky 13. The last one had slipped in late, stayed towards the back, and was holding a visible device, some kind of a remote. Droids began dropping quicker, everyone taking notice now.

"You've just been bugged!" One of the intruders announced, turning off her cloak. She seemed to be the leader, standing in front of the rest of the unrevealed figures, and leaning on a large sword as she watched the wall of metal fall around her. She was dressed in black with traces of yellow lining her outfit. "Stupid droids. You find one bug in their software, and their toast!"

Whatever the bug was, _my_ software obviously didn't have it. No one seemed to have noticed me yet, but Cryptor was still very visibly functional and in front of them, aiming his blaster at the leading lady.

"Surrender your weapons now."

"Electric Blood answers to no one."

Before Cryptor could move, she shifted his blaster, and whipped her sword forward, sending it straight into his eye. That was where his core processor was… she seemed to know that. It shut him down instantly, his body joining the others on the floor. The other members of _Electric Blood_ revealed themselves, now thinking the room was empty, and headed right for the crystal, but that somehow wasn't my main concern.

My mind was locked on Cryptor. The image of the sword slicing through his eye was sticking with me too much for comfort. In a rush of decisions, I determined I couldn't leave him here. He deserved to have at least one chance at a normal, unrestricted life. I activated the pointed magnet in my mech to pull in Cryptor's body. As he began floating off the floor and out the window, they noticed my mech sitting outside, and now looked to be worried. I quickly sent it on a course to the cave, and attempted to focus my attention back to the threat in front of me.

"What was that?"

"That was Samurai X!"

"Samurai X is here!"

I turned off my cloak, blasters pointed towards them. "Took you long enough."

…

 _Cryptor will return_


End file.
